The present invention relates to computer networks and, more particularly, to a network appliance that monitor parameters (e.g., related to their own and/or a network's performance). A major objective of the present invention is to facilitate fault handling in a computer network.
Computer networks allow computer users to communicate, collaborate, and share resources. While there are peer-to-peer computer networks, most sophisticated networks use network infrastructure appliances, e.g., hubs, switches and routers, to manage communication between end-node appliances, e.g., computers, printers, modems, instrumentation, etc. A typical network infrastructure appliance includes multiple ports, each of which can be coupled to an end-node appliance or another network appliance. Networked end-node appliances communicate with each other through the network infrastructure appliances.
Just as individuals rely increasingly on computers for getting their work done, corporations rely increasingly on networks for getting their personnel to work cooperatively. When a network fails, group efforts grind to a halt, as do individual efforts relying on network resources. To a lesser degree, productivity is adversely affected when network performance is impaired. Accordingly, maintaining a network working and performing at optimal levels is highly desirable, if not critical. Unfortunately, such maintenance can also be quite difficult.
Many network appliances monitor performance-related parameters and, when the values of these parameters fail to meet certain criteria, transmit a notification to that effect over the network. For example, network infrastructure appliances often include counters for counting certain network related events (e.g., packet collisions); when a count or a combination of counts indicates a problem, a “trap” can be transmitted in accordance with a Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). For another example, a printer can monitor its components; when a problem is detected, the printer can transmit an “inform” in accordance with a Desktop Management Interface (DMI) protocol.
The various notifications can be received by a network management station, such as a computer devoted at least in part to network management. The network management station can present the notifications to a human administrator, who can determine whether or not corrective action is required and who can undertake corrective action if required.
In many cases, the information included in the notification is not comprehensive. Transmitting all pertinent information regarding triggering events might unduly burden a network; also, the pertinence of the information might wane if the administrator does not address the notification immediately. Accordingly, a concise notification is often a prelude to a more detailed investigation by the administrator.
When the more detailed information is desired, the administrator can request (through the network management station) that the network appliance transmit additional information. If the detailed information is presented in “raw” form, considerable demands are made on the expertise of the administrator in interpreting the data to diagnose the problem and in evaluating alternative courses of action. These demands are compounded in the common case where the network includes many appliance types, each with its own relevant parameters and alternative corrective actions. Since the individual trigger events might occur infrequently, an administrator might have to refer to the appropriate appliance manual each time a triggering-event notification is received.
The burden on the administrator can be relieved considerably by including the expertise into the network management station. The network management station can include a characterization of each appliance type on the network. The characterization can be used in interpreting appliance data and in suggesting alternative courses of action.
While such a solution appears feasible in a network in which all appliances (including the network management station) are from a single vendor, it is less workable where there are appliances from multiple vendors involved. Furthermore, when a new appliance type is added to the network, the network management station would have to be updated (e.g., through a patch or module added to the network management program running on the network management station). This might mean that each new appliance would have to be sold with program updates for each network administration program.
Thus, however they are allocated between the administrator and the network management station, the tasks of notification data interpretation and of determining responses can be unduly burdensome. What is needed is a network administration system, which minimizes the burden on the network administrator while allowing ready expandability of a network.